On Sunday night, Randy challenged us to consider how much and with what we trust our Savior. In our second question from Jesus, we looked at Matthew 6:25-34 and talked about trusting the Giver, not the gift. If you have thoughts on this passage or about trusting Jesus, let us know here with a comment.

Upriser, Emily Nickerson posted the following as a MySpace bulletin. Of course, we grabbed the opportunity to feature her reflections about last weekend’s Homeless Outreach on the blog. (I did ask her first, and she said it was okay to repost it.)

Homeless Outreach was hard tonight!Posted Date: Jul 26, 2008 10:27 PM

It started off great, the Gay’s, Kenny and I went above the bridge and passed out food and water which is what I usually do when I go to homeless outreach. This time we came back early so Kenny, me and Andrew Gay just hung around playing with a string thing… While we were doing that I was thinking that I really wanted to talk to someone, so I looked around and was watching one guy just hanging out waiting for something near me. I really struggled to go and talk to him, but when I did I was glad I had a chance to talk to him.

I asked about his guitar and how long he had been playing. He said 5 years and that it wasn’t really that cool. I asked him why and he said because he plays most of his songs that are about dying. I again asked him why he did that and he said something like he didn’t deserve to be living and that he shouldn’t go to heaven because of all the wrong things he has done. I was speechless and felt like I was tripping over my words because I really didn’t expect to hear that. I felt like the words I was saying to him were “church” words.

(But praying that God will use them anyways.)

I told him that God looks at sin the same. That if someone does something that you don’t think is “that bad” compared to something that is Horrible, God doesn’t see it that way. He sees it as the same.

I also said that God has Mercy and He wants to forgive you and see you in Heaven!

The sad part is that One Bear (his name) agreed with me and the things I said, but he just didn’t see himself as someone God could do all that for!

It really broke my heart to really have someone say that to me. It is one thing when you hear someone else share their story about someone saying that to them, but when it is said to you… it is really different.

SO! If you want to pray for One Bear that would be awesome!! Because although he didn’t think he was a nice guy, HE really was!!

Break spaghetti in half. Cook in boiling salted water until done. Drain. While still warm, combine spaghetti with eggs and parmesan cheese. Pour into a well- greased 10” pie plate and pat mixture up around sides with a spoon. Melt butter, add onion and sauté until limp. Stir in sour cream and spoon over spaghetti. Remove sausage from casing, crumbling and cook in skillet until done. Drain. Add tomato paste, salt and water. Simmer 10 minutes. Spoon sausage on top of sour cream mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Arrange Mozzarella on top and return to oven until cheese melts. NOTE: This freezes well before baking so make 2 at a time.

The following post was first published on my personal blog as Part Two: After Uprising – Go in Peace.It was recommended to me to post it here as well… as it is a response to last Saturday’s Uprising message and thats what this blog is for! Enjoy! -Cori

Pastor Randy began our summer series “Life of Christ” last Saturday at Uprising by talking about Jesus as the Life Giver. He re-introduced us all to the sinful woman (Luke 7:36-50) who ‘went to where Jesus was’ (at the home of the Pharisee man) and washed his feet with perfume oil, her tears and her hair.

Her hair.

“Why is this significant?” He asked us. “What does this say about her hair?” Someone suggested it meant her hair was really, really long. (I admit, thats what I was thinking too.) Randy began to explain that by using her hair (yes, long, undoubtedly beautiful hair), she was sacrificing her “glory” and giving of herself to her bridegroom. In Jesus’ day, a woman’s hair was not often see by others like it is now, but rather it was tied back and hidden. It was her private glory. Only in the privacy of one’s own quarters were a woman’s long locks displayed… and for her husband only. (Certainly explains a little of why Dad always said guys liked long hair, haha!)

The sinful woman’s hair was a sign of her glory. Randy added that the perfumed oil she used to wash Jesus feet, although costly, probably wasn’t a great sacrifice to her. She probably had plenty of money (hello, look at her profession!)… But her hair was hers, and hers alone… her private beauty. Her treasure.

(This makes me think of the movie Pretty Woman, and how Vivian (Julia Roberts) wouldn’t kiss her clients or even Edward (Richard Gere) (except she eventually does. of course). Kisses were special and reserved for her. They were her “glory.” Okay, an interesting cultural analogy, I admit!)

Now, the question Randy asked:

What is your glory? What “something” in your life do you hold dear, hold precious and special? What gift do you have to share with Jesus? What is “that something” God may ask of you to sacrifice for Him, your bridegroom?

Maybe for some of you, it’s your time. In my young women’s small group, we are reading the book Completely His by Shannon Ethridge, and in the chapter we are discussing Monday night (tonight!): “Becoming Fluent in the Language of Love,” Ethridge suggests “seven secrets to bask in God’s presence.” All of the secrets are fantastic, but I want to share just one of them with you now. Her second secret was to “establish a certain place where you will have regular devotional times with the Lord. Whether it’s in the living room, backyard, or your closet floor, make it your special place to rendezvous with Jesus. As your inevitably wrestle with the ‘Am I going to have a devotional time today?’ question, envision Jesus sitting in that regular spot, awaiting your arrival. Remember He gets as much out of your time together as you do, don’t keep Him waiting there too long before you join Him in sweet fellowship (pg90-91).”

Go to where God is. The sinful woman did and her worship and humility towards Jesus led to Him saying to her, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

Many of you had the privilege of hearing Rosemary speak about her ministry in Boma, Sudan. Check out her organization’s website, SEA Partners, and click the “Boma Project” to find out more. There are a few pictures for those of you who missed it. Randy is looking at heading up a trip to Boma in August ’09, so check it out!

On Saturday night, Jamil led us through a conversation about having being approved of and pleasing to God/men based on a passage from Galatians 1:6-10. Jamil started by discussing the circumstances of Paul’s letter to Galatians, when the Judaizers were leading the gentile believers to struggle with a works-based perspective of their faith. He also talked about the wounds we bear. He focused upon how God uses them to grow us and bear fruit, while our tendency is to instead dwell on the pain.

We then went on disuss:

Is it easier to please God or men?

What’s the difference between being approved of and being pleasing to someone? Is there a difference?

Is got ever displeased with His children or his creation?

Does God look at the same things we look at?
(Peterbeing afraid while walking on water. We often focus on symptoms instead of the disease.)

If you could like to continue that conversation, leave a comment here.

On Saturday night, Randy took us through a difficult passage in Acts 19. He talked about how many Christians have incomplete “spiritual armor” (Ephesians 6:10-20) and reminded us that the Holy Spirit completes us. Some of the supporting scripture we read together included:

Ephesians 1:3 – God has already blessed us with every spiritual blessing in Christ.